Geoff Nuttall

Geoff Nuttall began playing the violin at the age of eight after moving to London, Ontario from College Station, Texas. He spent most of his musical studies under the tutelage of Lorand Fenyves at the Banff Centre, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Toronto, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree. Nuttall co-founded the St. Lawrence String Quartet in 1989 and has performed as the ensemble's first violinist more than 2,000 times on stages around the world. The St. Lawrence String Quartet first played Spoleto Festival USA in 1995 and is now considered the "house band" of the festival's acclaimed chamber music series.

In addition to its busy concert and recording schedule, the St. Lawrence String Quartet has served as Graduate Ensemble-in-Residence at the Juilliard School, Yale University, and Hartt School of Music. The members have acted as teaching assistants to the Juilliard, Tokyo, and Emerson String Quartets.

In 2010, Geoff Nuttall was named the Artistic Director for Chamber Music at the Spoleto Festival USA. He serves on faculty at Stanford University, where the St. Lawrence String Quartet has been Ensemble-in-Residence since 1999, and makes his home in California’s Bay Area with his wife, violinist Livia Sohn, and their young son, Jack.